Parking Lots Can Be Dangerous Places for Pedestrians and Motorists

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), nearly 20 percent of all auto accidents occur in commercial parking lots. They cite poor lighting and failure to monitor blind spots as major causes of these crashes. Understanding the most common types of collisions may help you maneuver more safely in a parking lot.

Most Common Parking Lot Crashes

The three most common types of parking lot collisions involve a moving vehicle and either another moving vehicle, a pedestrian, or a parked car. Accidents that commonly occur in parking lots include:

Car collides with another moving car. Parking lots are designed with two basic lane types—thoroughfares and feeder lanes. The thoroughfare lanes are the ones that generally run parallel with the parking spots and lead out to the open road. Feeder lanes are the lanes that run perpendicular to the parking spots and are used by both cars and pedestrians to get to and from a parking spot. Unfortunately, feeder lanes aren’t specifically divided into two lanes, so drivers are allowed to go up or down the feeder lanes as they choose as long as they’re cautious of oncoming cars as well as cars backing out of spaces. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen, and cars collide. A confused sense of right-of-way also causes car collisions in parking lots. When a driver in the feeder lane attempts to turn onto the thoroughfare lane, even though the cars in the thoroughfare lane have the right-of-way, a collision can ensue. After all, having the right-of-way isn’t a guarantee that the car in the feeder lane will stop.

Car collides with a pedestrian. These types of collisions usually occur as a car is backing out of a spot or when pedestrians are walking into the feeder lane to get to the store or their parked vehicle. Since cars are parked next to one another, a driver’s visibility is diminished when backing out of a space. When a pedestrian is walking behind him, or in his blind-spot, it’s easy for the driver to think that he’s clear to reverse. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case.

Car collides with parked car. Whether the driver isn’t paying attention, cuts a turn too sharply, or fails to see a car in a space, hitting a parked car can not only cause serious property damage but if there are passengers in the car, it can result in serious injury.

For more information on parking lot accidents, including questions on liability and injury compensation, visit our library of educational articles for legal support and insight. You can also contact us directlyto schedule your FREE consultation with an experienced attorney. At Andrew Kim Law Firm, PLLC, we’re happy to discuss your concerns and help you understand your legal options. Get the answers you need today.